US1571032A - Car coupler - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 26 1926.

J. WESOLIK CAR GOUPLER Filed March 23, 1925 w 0. E 4 YN M, e mw m A T .v a, f Z ,y/ am, Im H 3J. @f .4 l f i 1 d 0 E! j .Q d/ HMM. 5 .W n@ 0 vw .w

Patented Jan. 26, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

UNITED STATES JOSEPH WESOLIK, OF BELLEVILLE, ILLNOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO HENRY I-I.

GrERLING, OF BELLEVILLE, LLINOIS.

CAE COUPLER.

Application led March 23, 1925.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that l, Josnrrr VVEsoLrK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Belleville, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Car Couplers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to car couplers, and has for its main object to provide an inexpensive car coupler of simple design and rugged construction, that is composed of duplicate members adapted to be mounted on the opposed ends of two adjacent cars and each provided with a latch of such construction and arrangement that it can be used as a retaining device to hold a removableV draw bar in operative position in the member on which the latch is mounted, or used as an automatic coupling device to co-opcrate with the outer end of a draw bar which is mounted in the other member of the coupling, thereby enabling the draw bar to be shifted from one end of the car to the other end without the necessity of disturbing the coupler members on the ends of the car.

Another object is to provide a car cou pler of the kind above described, which is so constructed that it will operate to automatically couple two adjacent cars, even though the draw bar on one car is disposed at a sharp angle to the coupler member on the other car, say, an angle of 450.

Another object is to provide an automatic car coupler of the kind mentioned, in which the draw bar latch of each member of the coupler is combined with a locking mechanism of simple construction and arrangement so as to lock the latch when the latch is being used as a retaining device for the draw bar or as a coupling device for the draw bar, and adapted to be operated manually to render said locking mechanism inoperative when it is desired to disengage the latch from the draw bar during the operation of uncoupling two cars, or during the operation of shifting the draw bar.v

My improved coupler is capable of use 'with various kinds of railway cars, but it is particularly adapted for use on mine cars and other relatively small, light-weight cars, due to its simplicity of construction, low cost of manufacture and the ease with which the draw bar can be shifted or trans- Serial No. 17,708.

ferred from one end of the car to the other end.

Figure l of the drawings is a vertical sectional view of an automatic car coupler constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is an end view of one member of the coupler, namely, the left hand member shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the coupler member shown in Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the removable draw bar.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate thev preferred form of my invention, A designates two members that are duplicates of each other and which are adapted to be arranged in opposed relation on two cars, as shown in Figure l, B designates a removable draw bar mounted in one of said members in such a way that the outer end portion of said draw bar will enter the other coupler member A when the two cars come together, and C designates latches on the members A, the latch on the right hand coupler member serving as a retaining device to hold the draw bar in operative positionin said member and the latch on the left hand member A. of the coupling serving as a coupling device which co-operates witha hook or other projection 1 on the end of the draw bar tov prevent the draw bar from pulling out of the left hand coupler member. 1

The coupler members A preferably consist of castings, each of which is provided with a boxdike portion 2 in which the latch C is arranged and having a hole 3 in its front wall through which the draw bar passes. Said box-like portion bears against the end sill or end wall of the car and it is provided at its lower end with a rearwardly-projecting guide 4t that'receives the inner end portion of the draw bar B. The box-like portion 2 is preferably provided with a flange 5 that increases the bearing area of the member A on the end sill or end wall of the car, and if desired, the draw bar guide 4 on said member can be provided at its sides with laterally-projecting top and bottom flanges 6 arranged above and below the floor ai of the'car and to which said door is attached by bolts or other suitable fastening devices 7, as shown in Figure 3. rhe latch C and the draw bar B are so proportioned and designed that the rear end portion of the draw bar can be slipped endwise into either of the coupler members A through the hole 3 in the box-like portion otsaid member, and after reaching a certain position in said member, will become locked by the latch C and securely held from endwise movement in the reverse direction, namely, outwardly through the hole S. Sidewise movement or lateral movement of the draw bar is prevented by the engagement of the rear end portion of the draw bar with the guide 4 and by a relatively wide, intermediate portion 8 on the draw bar that is of approxin'iately the same width as the box-like portion 2 of the member A, said intermediate portion being a trifle thicker than the front end portion oit the draw bar so as to form a shoulder 9 that cooperates with the latch C to prevent the draw bar from moving forwardly out of the coupler member A that supports and carries said draw bar.

The latch C of each coupler member is mounted in the box-like portion 2 or" said member in such a way that it is capable ot slight rocking movement and is also capable of a slight vertical movement. ln the form of my invention herein illustrated the latch C is provided at its upper end with a horizontally-disposed pin l0 or with trunnions that project outwardly through verticallydisposed, elongated slots l2 in the side walls of the box-like portion 2 of the coupler member and is so arranged that it extends transversely of the opening 3 in the front wall of said box-like portion. To arrange the draw bar B in operative position in one of the coupler members A the rear end por- Cil tion of said draw bar is inserted in the hole 3 in the front of the coupler member and moved rearwardly so as to position the rear end portion of said draw bar in the guide 4, the rearward movement of said draw bar causing the latch C to swing upwardly until the shoulder 9 on the intermediate portion 8 of the draw bar passes said latch, after which the latch will swing downwardly into the position shown in Figure l, thus securely locking the draw bar in operative position in the coupler member. Assuming that the draw bar B has been positioned in one of the coupler members A, and that it is desired to couple the car that carries said draw bar to an adjacent car, the cars are brought together so as to cause the front end portion of the draw bar to move into operative relationship with the latch C in the coupler member A on said adjacent car. During the coupling operation the hookshaped end portion l of the draw bar B will pass inwardly through the hole 3 in the front end of the lett hand coupler member A and exert pressure on the latch C in said member in direction te swing said latch to the left, and after the hook-shaped portion l on the draw bar has passed beyond the latch, the latch will swing dowrm'ardly into the position shown in Figure l, and thus prevent the front end portion of the draw bar from moving outwardly through the hole 3 in the left hand coupler member. l/Vhen the cars are in motion the pulling strains are taken up by the latches C of the respective coupler members cri-operating with the hook-shaped portion l and with the shoulder 9 on the draw bar and with the end walls of the box-shaped portions 2 of the coupler members against which said latches C bear. rEhe :front end portion ol' the draw bar is so proportioned that it can telescope inside of the lett hand coupler member A suiiiciently to permit the two coupler members to come together without exerting any strain on the draw bar in the event` the cars are traveling down grade, and thereafter, when the coupler members i separate, due to an increase in the speed ot the car ahead, there is little danger of the cars pulling apart or separating, due to the fact that the shock or strains on the draw bar are taken up or absorbed by two rugged latches C o'l' relatively great width that bear against flat, vertically-disposed faces on two rugged castings connected to the end sills or end walls of the cars. The front end portion of the draw bar is of considerably less width than the hole 3 in the coupler member through which said draw bar passes during the operation of coupling two cars together so. as to provide 'for the side sway or sidewise movement of one car relatively to the other and to permit the front end portion of the draw bar to enter the coupler member with which it Co-operates, even though said draw bar and coupler member are disposed at a sharp angle to each other, say, tor example, an angle of 45.

In order to lock the latches C and prevent them from moving accidentally out of engagement with the shoulder 9 and with the hook-shaped portion l on the draw bar, l provide each of the coupler members A with a locking mechanism composed of a rock shaft 13 arranged transversely ot' the coupler member in lugs 14 on the top wall of th-e box-shaped portion 2 of same and provided at its ends with arms l5 that are adapted to be moved downwardly into engagement with shoulders 1G on the side pieces of a bail 17 that is attached to the laterally-projecting end portions of the pin lt) in the latch C. Vhen the locking' mechamsm of each coupler member is arranged in the position shown in Figure l, it will be impossible for the latch C of the right hand coupler member to move into an inoperative position, and thus release the draw bar, and it will be impossible for the latch C of the lett hand coupler member to move into an llO inoperative position, and thus permit the end'portion of the draw bar to pull out of the left hand coupler member. If. however, it is desired to uncouple the cars, the rock shaft 13 oit the left hand coupler member is swung to the right so as to move the arms 15 out of engagement with the shoulders 16 on the side pieces of the bail 17, after which said bail can be grasped and moved upwardly so as to bodily raise the latch C` of the left hand coupler member upwardly far enough to clear the hook-shaped portion 1 on the end of the draw bar. In case it is desired to shift the draw bar from one end of the car to the other end, the rock shaft 13 of the latch locking mechanism of the coupler member that carries said draw bar is swung in a direction to release the bail 17 of said locking mechanism, thereby permitting the latch C to which said bail is attached to be moved upwardly far enough to clear the shoulder 9 on the draw bar, after which the draw bar can be pulled out of the coupler member.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a car coupling, a coupler member adapted to be mounted on a car and provided with a box-like portion, a draw bar removably mounted in said member and provided with a shoulder, a latch insideof the box-like portion of said member arranged to co-operate with said shoulder to prevent the draw bar from pulling out of said member, laterally-projecting trunnions on said latch arranged in elongated slots in the side walls of said box-like portion, a bail connected to said latch and arranged on the outside of said member for bodily shitting` said latch, and a rock shaft on said member provided with arms that co-operate with said bail to retain said latch in operative position.

2, A car coupling comprising duplicate coupler members adapted to be arranged in opposed relation and each provided with a hollow, box-like portion that has a draw bar opening in the front wall draw bar guide projecting'rearwardly from said box-like portion, a hinged latch arranged on the inside of said box-like portion over the draw bar opening in the front wall of same, a pin on said latch whose end portions pro-ject outwardly through elongated slots in the side walls of said boX- like portion, a bail connected to said pin, a rock shaft arranged transversely of said box-like portion on the top wall of same and provided with arms that are adapted to engage shoulders on said bail, and a removable draw bar adapted to be retained in one of said members by the latch of same and provided at its front end with a part that is adapted tomove into interlocking engagement with the latch of the other member during the operation oi." coupling two cars together.

JOSEPH WESOLIK.

of same, a i

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